It is good to be back. It’s been a long time coming, but before I get into that I’ll give you a little background on my situation.

It started in 2012 when I decided to go to UND. I roomed with one of my best friends from high school. We were paired up with two suite-mates that became two of my all time best friends. I met a ton of great people, and it was a good year. Unfortunately money was an issue and I decided to go home and finish my generals at a a local community college called Normandale. I spent a year and a half there, and finish up my generals. I didn’t dislike Normandale, but it was definitely not a real college experience. I didn’t make any friends there that I still talk to. It basically felt like a glorified high school. It’s a great school, one of the best community colleges in the country if I’m not mistaken, but it just wasn’t the same and being at a university.

Living at home was nice for a while. I didn’t have to buy my own food unless I went out. I didn’t have to pay rent. It was beautiful. There were some family related issues that occurred though, which made life a little more stressful. Eventually it got to the point where I realized that I didn’t really want to live there anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but it was time for me to get out.

The spark was definitely when my good friend and roommate from freshmen year, Alex, sent me a video over Facebook essentially recruiting me to come back. He made some great points and it definitely just solidified the thoughts I was already having about going back to a university. I had taken a semester off after getting my associates from Normandale so it was about time for me to get back to business.

Flash forward a few months and Alex and I are driving up to Grand Forks in my new(ish) Toyota Corolla jamming out to N.W.A. and Ed Sheeran. We’re moving into our new apartment tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited. I can’t wait to be in charge of my own life. I can’t wait to only be held accountable for myself and nobody else. I can’t wait to go out with my friends and have fun whenever I want. I haven’t been able to do any of those things for two years.

I don’t regret going home and finishing up generals and spending time with my family. I don’t regret helping my brother take care of his kids when he needed it because I love them with all my heart. I am truly going to miss those little troublemakers because they have become a huge part of my life. I don’t regret any of those things, but I definitely don’t regret leaving it and coming here either because I know this year is going to be amazing.